Nathaniel Salzman

America, Best of the web, Humor, Television, WTF?

There’s something in the works that might very well mean a new scooter in my garage.

More to come.

<— extra points to anybody who can name that wheel!

The site itself

Last week on The Daily Show, John Stewart had former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on the show. Stewart asked a lot of hard questions about Blair’s stance on the Iraq war, terrorism, and his support of President Bush. Blair was very gracious and patient with Stewart’s light-hearted, hard-hitting questions, but was also equally vague in his answers. What Stewart was trying to push Blair on the hardest was retrospect, and wondering if the military route, especially in Iraq, could ever actually solve the heart of the terrorism issue. He made one especially insightful point.

“The only point for me is, 19 people flew into the towers. It seems hard for me to imagine that we could go to war enough to make the world safe enough that 19 people wouldn’t want to do harm to us. So it seems like we have to rethink a strategy that is less military-based, in general.”

Read more…

America, Best of the web, Humor, Television daily show, john stewart, politics, tony blair, war

Yesterday my lovely wife and I were at the local coffee shop where we overheard who I’m guessing was a grandfather explaining to his curious, ’bout 8-year-old daughter the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. It was her question, which she’d actually posed to her grandmother, but he interrupted to give his version. 

Think of it this way. Take a dollar bill out of your pocket and put it on the table. If you want to keep that dollar, you’re a Republican. If you want to give that dollar away, then you’re a Democrat.

His description was as stunning as it was wrong and familiar. Here was this little girl, genuinely curious about the election that is going on around her, and that was is kid-friendly explanation between the right and the left? What bothered me most was not his epic mischaracterization of conservative and liberal values alike, but the smugness with which he did it. His whole posture reeked of his own self-satisfaction. His head back, chin low, as he looked down his nose at his own flesh and blood. What I recognized most alarmingly, however, was the familiarity of that posture. I realized that I’d been told so many of the same lies when I was a kid. Not because my parents are or were evil neocons, but because they’d believed the lies about liberal ideals and what it meant for democracy. Bundle that with the notion that all good Christians hold conservative values — this based in the deeper myth that Christianity is about morality and that such must be fought for in the political arena. All of it delivered in that “us vs. them” context. Read more…

America, WTF?

The Huffington Post is reporting that Al Franken may have even reprised his former role in helping write the sketch. Funny stuff.

America, Best of the web, Humor, Television election 2008, Humor, mccain, obama, palin, satire, SNL

With the plug pulled on the first two Bill Gates / Jerry Seinfeld ads, a new “Life without walls” campaign launched last week. The ad starts with a John Hodgman look-alike and plays off of Apple’s brilliant “Hello, I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC” campaign. The dejected man greets viewers saying, “Hello, I’m a PC and I’ve been made into a stereotype.” The ad then cuts to people of varying backgrounds and activities embracing the “I’m a PC” label.

This ad is well executed, but it’s the strategy that I think is a $300 million mistake. More on why after the jump.

Read more…

Advertising, Design, Tech, Television commercial, life without walls, microsoft, windows

During the 2000 Presidential Election, I remember hearing a quote that summed up a lot of how the candidates (Gore and G.W. Bush) had spoken very much at the American people, rather than to them.

“Bush spoke to the American people as if English was his second language. Gore spoke to them as if it were theirs.” 

Neither candidate was able to simply stop and talk to us in an authentic way — Bush in his 5th grader sound bites, and Gore in comatose condescension.

Barack Obama has just released this two minute spot about the economy. Just as so much of his campaign has been refreshingly candid, this brief and respectful address to the american people gets right to business and is refreshingly substantive.
 

Advertising, America, Best of the web campaign ads, election 2008, obama

Special thanks to db and Gabe for the nod. I’m a long-time fan of the site.

MotoringFile R60 Analysis: Nathaniel Salzman

Best of the web, Cars, Design, The site itself

Todd, db, and special guest Michael Babischkin took some time to talk about the MINI Crossover Concept and gave a very kind mention of my analysis from last week. Thanks, gentlemen. db mentioned posting an excerpt on Motoringfile, but I haven’t seen it yet. Weird.

Their discussion of the concept turned out to be very interesting, which is no surprise. WRR is always a fine program worth a listen. db’s comparison to the Infinity FX on looks and Todd’s likening to the Scion xA/xD on concept were very good observations. Likewise the comparison to the Subaru Outback is a really good analog to what this car will end up being, I think. The Outback has a very loyal fan base, so something similar in a smaller package could really be a big hit. Read more…

Best of the web, Cars, Design, The site itself concept car, MINI, MINI Crossover, whiteroofradio

The Obama campaign has produced the best campaign ad I’ve ever seen. If you’re on the fence, think about the kind of country we could have. Imagine the difference that could be made by leadership that believes in hope, in change, and in making a real difference in people’s lives. I, for one, am inspired.

Advertising, America, Best of the web Advertising, America, campaign 2008, change, hope, john mccain, obama, president, reform, unity